Infrastructure Minister Silvan Shalom vows to work for further reductions, but prices will still be double what they were in 2009.
By NIV ELISTap water [illustrative](photo credit: INIMAGE)
Israel’s Water Authority Council on Thursday approved a plan to lower water prices 10% as of January 1.The drop follows a 5% decrease in water prices this past January, and another .5% drop in July.“Water rates will fall 10% at the beginning of January, and thus we will complete a reduction of over 15% in the rate consumers pay within a year, a decrease that will be felt in every house in Israel,” Infrastructure Minister Silvan Shalom said.He said he intends to work for further reductions in 2015 as well, raising the election-time issue of cost-of-living reductions.According to the ministry, the price reductions resulted from streamlining in water companies, updating the prices within various sectors, and settling accounts with Mekorot.Yet even after the drop, water prices will still be roughly double what they were just five years ago.Earlier in the week, Shalom announced a change in the process of buying renewable energy that could also lower the price of electricity, but could put some solar providers expecting higher rates out of business. He promised that electricity prices would fall 15% in 2015.Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid touted both price reductions when he unveiled his 2015 budget.Despite Lapid’s removal from the Finance Ministry and the scrapping of the budget plan, the price drops remain unaffected.
![Tap water [illustrative] (photo credit: INIMAGE)](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/253014 "Tap water [illustrative]")